“Mats of algae” collecting on beaches throughout Gulf with “aroma of hydrocarbons and a coppery oily smear to the touch” (PHOTOS)

Mats of algae collect on beaches throughout the Gulf, but natural death doesn’t include the aroma of hydrocarbons and a coppery oily smear to the touch. Is the cause BP oil? Only testing for a fingerprint will tell.

Credit: Gulfoilspillproject.wordpress.com

The unmistakable iridescent sheen of oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon site seven months after the April 20th disaster – near Grand Terre islands, Louisiana Nov. 21, 2010…